You might be surprised how many manager feel concerned when they need to leave their business – you see they have fallen short in being able to empower their employees to cope without them. And that’s a problem…
Empowerment means a degree of freedom for a manager and, perhaps even more important, fulfilled and developed employees…
Empowerment – The Holy Grail Of Management
You see, most managers come from the ‘shop-floor’ and find it difficult to let go of that role.
This is an insecurity issue – they feel their job is threatened if they are not the one making the call.
So they find it hard to not do the whole job, despite having people around them who would willingly do a bit more.
Empowerment Improves Productivity – A Lot!
Some employees enjoy being able to say, “call back on Monday”, or “I can’t make that decision, you need to speak with the manager”.
That way they can get off making a decision and risk less.
By having this sort of relationship with employees where they know the manager takes all the key steps, they will do only what they are told, which is a big burden on the manager
It’s The Manager’s Fault!
Many managers unknowingly encourage this type of behavior.
It’s quite a step to recognize that employees will evolve their capabilities when they have the trust of the manager and are allowed to do more.
In the front line with customers, having the power to solve their problems fast is a particularly valuable asset.
Customers Love Employee Empowerment!
The customer is waiting for the “manager isn’t here”, and when he gets it, becomes extremely irritated.
Or worse, it’s a way of passing the blame for the issue in question onto a manager, both by the employee and then the customer.
It’s a no-win situation for a manager that wants to portray that they are in control.
A Manager’s Strength Is His Team
A manager cannot do it all – their performance depends on how they get the best from their team.
By giving employees the capacity to act on the manager’s behalf they will benefit incredibly with that level of trust.
You will stand behind the logical decisions they make, and then let them know what you might have done different, you are teaching them to become a manager.
Any manager with that sort of team ethic will benefit hugely from the freedom that comes as a result.
What Empowerment Brings
Of course, when a manager has been used to keeping every tricky decision to themselves, it’s a bit of a fear to let things go – and it can be one of the best things they can learn to do.
They get a sense of ownership, power, and self-taught initiative that they can never get from somebody dictating to them.
This is the principle of management development through empowerment.
Turning Teams Around
It’s an amazing experience as a manager when you turn someone on to the hidden capabilities they have within them already.
They begin to reach a level of management development that all managers should desire-a staff that can exist without them.
